Quinlan: McGahan a tough act to follow

Munster legend Alan Quinlan has warned the province they’ll have a big void to fill following the return of head coach Tony McGahan to Australia at the end of the season.

Quinlan heaped praise on McGahan yesterday for the “huge contribution” he has made to Munster rugby since his arrival here just over six years ago.

“There’s no doubt he will be a hard act to follow; apart from hiscontribution as assistant and head coach, he put a very good programme in place the last few years to allow for the development of home-produced players,” said Quinlan.

“Unfortunately, we [as players] didn’t win a Heineken Cup for him [as head coach] but of course he was involved heavily in the couple of wins we did have in 2006 and 2008.

“He is an excellent coach and played a huge part in bringing along a lot of young players, so at least he will leave that legacy when he moves on.

“He will be missed, no doubt, but it’s understandable that he should want to move on to take up such an offer [with Australia]. It’s an offer that’s really too hard to turn down.

“He has a great opportunity to get back home and I wish him well.”

As Munster look for a successor to what Quinlan described as one of the biggest jobs in rugby, Quinlan wouldn’t second-guess what might happen but he believes former skipper and current assistant coach Anthony Foley will be a serious front-runner.

“Of course he is in the mix, he has been making his mark and it’s right and proper that he should be in there with a big shout,” said Quinlan.

“No doubt there will be a considerable amount of interest in the post, Axel has the credentials but I’m sure there will be a lot of interest in it; it’s very high profile, so I wouldimagine there will be some candidates from around the world. That’s credit to where Munster and, I suppose, Irish rugby is at the minute.”